Tech. Sgt. Samuel Wicks, a basic training instructor at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, faces up to 18 years in prison.

Tech. Sgt. Samuel Wicks, a basic training instructor at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, faces up to 18 years in prison.

Photo: Bob Owen / San Antonio Express-News

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The sex abuse scandal centered at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland has become the worst in Air Force history with 33 basic training instructors under investigation for allegations of misconduct with 63 recruits and technical training students. The following photos depict the still-unfolding investigation.

Air Force trainees at Lackland Air Force Base listen as officials explain to them about sexual misconduct and their responsibilities to report it.

March 2, 2012:

Air Force trainees at Lackland Air Force Base listen as officials explain to them about sexual misconduct and their responsibilities to report it.

Photo: William Luther, San Antonio Express-News

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April, 2012:

Staff Sgt. Peter Vega-Maldonado, 32, pleaded guilty to two charges stemming from his relationship with a 21-year-old airman he supervised in basic training. In exchange for a reduced sentence, he agreed to testify against two other trainers he said had illicit relationships with women. The judge gave Maldonado 90 days in jail, 30 days hard labor while restricted to the base, reduction from staff sergeant to airman and forfeiture of $500 a month pay for four months. Read more: Two more Lackland AFB instructors implicated in sex scandal

Lt. Col. Mike Paquette lost his job as commander of the 331st Training Squadron at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, where most of the accused instructors had worked. He had led the 331st Training Squadron for two years. Read more: Training boss ousted in Lackland sex scandal

Air Force Staff Sgt. Luis Walker arrives for the fourth day of his trial at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio. Walker was accused of sexually assaulting 10 basic trainees, with charges ranging from rape and aggravated sexual assault to obstructing justice and violating rules of professional conduct. Read more: Staff Sgt. Walker found guilty on all charges of sexual misconduct

Staff Sgt. Luis A. Walker is taken away in chains from the 37th Training Wing Headquarters after sentencing. Walker, called a "sexual predator" by Air Force prosecutors, was given 20 years in prison. Read more: 'Sexual predator' gets 20 years at Lackland trial

Tech Sgt. Christopher Smith, 33, was convicted on two of four counts of misconduct with basic trainees and sentenced to 30 days in jail and a reduction in rank to airman first class, a penalty that will permit him to remain in the Air Force. Read more: AF trainer given 30 days behind bars, loss of rank

Maj. Gen. Margaret Woodward submitted the Command Directed Investigation, which took a deeper and wider look at basic military training, to AETC Commander Gen. Edward Rice. Her recommendations will become an important blueprint for actions that will be implemented throughout basic training as well as technical training. Read more: Major general to investigate ‘systemic issues'

After a little more than a year on the job, Air Force Col. Eric Axelbank stepped down as head of a training wing here that has been rocked by a growing sex scandal. The command change occurred one day before another instructor, Master Sgt. Jamey Crawford, goes on trial on charges of having sex with a trainee. Read more: Col. Axelbank exits Lackland for the Pentagon

U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Kwinton Estacio arrives for the start of his court marshal at Lackland Air Force Base. Estacio was initially tried on charges that he sexually assaulted a female basic training student, violated a no-contact order and asked several trainees to lie about his contact with them. Read more: Lackland sergeant pleads guilty to less serious charges

Staff Sgt. Kwinton Estacio is led away from the 37th Training Wing Headquarters after sentencing in his trial at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland. He was sentenced to one year in prison after pleading guilty to charges of obstruction and having sex with a trainee in violation of Air Force conduct rules. Read more: Former Lackland trainer receives 1-year sentence

Col. Deborah Liddick marches with military drill
instructors during her change-of-command ceremony at JBSA-Lackland. The
fourth woman to oversee the Air Force's boot camp since 1996, she takes
over amid an investigation that is scrutinizing 33 basic training
instructors for misconduct. Read more: Woman now heads AF training at Lackland

Col. Deborah Liddick, left, salutes new military training instructor Staff Sgt. Abigail Rodriguez, after taking command of the Air Force basic training program at JBSA-Lackland.

Sept. 21, 2012:

Col. Deborah Liddick, left, salutes new military training instructor Staff Sgt. Abigail Rodriguez, after taking command of the Air Force basic training program at JBSA-Lackland.

Photo: Billy Calzada, San Antonio Express-News

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Sept. 21, 2012:

Col. Deborah Liddick, new commander of Air Force basic training at JBSA-Lackland, is applauded by by presiding officer and commander of the 37th Training Wing Col. Mark Camerer during a change-of-command ceremony.

Staff Sgt. Jason Manko (right) is led from the courthouse to a waiting pickup on Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland after being sentenced to 45 days in jail and another 30 days of hard labor on the base for having an illicit relationship with a female trainee. Read more: Lackland trainer gets 45 days in jail in sex case

U.S. Congresswomen from California, members of the House Armed Services Committee, Loretta Sanchez (from left), Jackie Speier and Susan Davis hold a press conference outside Lackland Air Forc e Base. The committee members met with personnel at the base to investigate the ongoing sex scandal. Read more: Lackland's ‘culture' blamed for scandal

Gen. Edward Rice Jr. and Maj. Gen. Margaret Woodward met with the media at a press conference in the Pentagon as Col. Steve Clutter stands nearby to field questions. The commanders met with reporters to outline the results of an investigation into sexual misconduct among basic training instructors at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland. Read more: Lackland leaders cited in scandal

Former Air Force instructor Staff Sgt. Craig LeBlanc, center, who was facing 52 years in prison on charges of misconduct with three trainees, threatened to jump from a local overpass after becoming overwhelmed by his legal problems and travel restrictions. Read more: Lackland instructor's legal woes cited in apparent suicide tries. He remained in the Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland lockup after a hearing Dec. 4 in which the Air Force said he committed four new violations. Read more: Lackland trainer jailed after release

Air Force Tech. Sgt. Jaime Rodriguez, middle, who is accused of rape, forcible sodomy and adultery while assigned to the Lake Jackson recruiting office from August 2008 to November 2011, arrives for an evidentiary hearing at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland. Read more: Air Force recruiter pursued girl for sex

House members sharply criticized two Air Force generals for a culture that allowed pervasive sexual abuse of recruits at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, and for “significant” delays in reporting the crimes. Lawmakers from both parties took turns at a congressional hearing voicing their displeasure and pressed the generals about steps the Air Force is taking to stop sexual abuse. Technical Sergeant Jennifer Norris wipes a tear as she testifies during the hearing. Read more: Panel criticizes handling of Lackland abuse

A day after jurors cleared Staff Sgt. Donald Davis of the most serious charges against him, he was sentenced to three months of hard labor and a bad conduct discharge for having sex with a trainee in technical school. Read more: Air Force instructor sentenced to hard labor

Air Force Staff Sgt. Craig LeBlanc, in chains, is led from a JBSA Lackland courtroom after being sentenced to 2 1/2 years after he was found guilty on all but one of nine charges that included a 2011 tryst with a recruit. Facing a battery of allegations that included sexually assaulting a woman, he was at risk of going to prison for 52 years. Read more: Lackland trainer gets prison for sexual misconduct

Air Force Staff Sgt. Eddy Soto got four years in prison and a dishonorable discharge after being found guilty of raping an airman he'd led in basic training. Soto, 30, is only the second trainer at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland to be convicted of rape since trials began last spring in the growing instructor misconduct scandal. Staff Sgt. Luis Walker was given 20 years in July. Read more: Lackland trainer handed 4 years in rape

Former Air Force basic training instructor Master Sgt. Jamey Crawford was given seven months in jail, two months' hard labor and a bad-conduct discharge for having sex with two women and later lying to investigators about it. Read more: Trainer gets 7 months in Lackland scandal

Staff Sgt. William Romero was given 30 days' hard labor, restricted to Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland another 30 days and reduced to airman after pleading guilty to charges that he had illicit relationships with four women and committed adultery. Read more: Lackland trainer, an Iraq vet, gets 60-day sentence

Tech. Sgt. Bobby Bass, who faced up to 33 years in prison, was convicted on multiple counts of misconduct with recruits four years ago at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland and sentenced to six months in jail and a reduction in rank by a single stripe. He was acquitted by the jury of two officers and four NCOs of a rape charge involving an airman while in Kyrgyzstan. Read more: NCO gets 6 months in abuses at Lackland

Staff Sgt. Emily Allen, who pleaded guilty to having sex with a recruit, was sentenced to three months in jail, 30 days' hard labor and reduced to airman first class. The Air Force could move to discharge her after she is released from jail. Read more: Female Lackland trainer gets jail sentence

: Maj. Gen. Margaret Woodward takes over as the head of the Air Force's sexual response. She replaces Jeffrey Krusinski, a lieutenant colonel who was arrested and charged with sexual battery. Read more: Lackland critic to target AF sex abuse

Military judge Col. Donald Eller Jr. found Airman 1st Class Nathan Wilson-Crow, a photographer, guilty of four charges and five specifications of misconduct, one of which carried a possible 15-year prison sentence. Wilson-Crow was tried making sexual contact and exposing himself to at least two girls from O'Connor High School at a youth camp in April 2013. Read more: Airman guilty of some charges in Lackland sex case

Former Staff Sgt. Luis Walker, given 20 years in the Air Force's worst sex scandal, dies in a Kansas City, Mo., hospital. He hanged himself in a prison cell at the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks.

September 1, 2014:

Former Staff Sgt. Luis Walker, given 20 years in the Air Force's worst sex scandal, dies in a Kansas City, Mo., hospital. He hanged himself in a prison cell at the U.S. Disciplinary Barracks.

Photo: San Antonio Express-News / File Photo

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September 9, 2014:

Following an analysis of instructor misconduct at Lackland, the Government Accountability Office reports that six recommendations have not been implemented, including one to increase the number of training instructors to 528. Read more: Changes driven by Lackland scandal not complete

A jury finds veteran Air Force Master Sgt. Michael Silva guilty of raping a recruit he was charged with training at Joint Base San Antonio-Lacklandin 1995. He was found guilty of twice raping the recruit, and also raping a third woman, a member of the military, in Wyoming during February 2007.

Tech Sgt. Samuel Wicks could be facing up to 16 years in prison on three charges and five specifications of misconduct.

Tech Sgt. Samuel Wicks could be facing up to 16 years in prison on three charges and five specifications of misconduct.

Photo: San Antonio Express-News / File Photo

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Stolen phone is at issue in the trial of AF trainer

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The case against an Air Force instructor accused of misconduct with three women could hinge on evidence on a cellphone that his ex-girlfriend stole from him and gave to investigators.

Air Force Col. Donald Eller Jr., the judge in the case, will decide today whether the cellphone evidence is admissible in the trial of Tech Sgt. Samuel Wicks.

Wicks, on trial at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, faces up to 16 years in prison on three charges and five specifications of misconduct.

“The first bad act of the government was taking the phone without his permission,” Wicks' lawyer, Maj. Naomi Dennis said, asking Eller to throw out the charges.

Prosecutors said Wicks had prohibited personal relationships with women in technical training, that he asked one of the women to lie about their relationship, and committed an indecent act.

Unlike many instructors charged in a scandal that has seen 32 trainers and 62 airmen identified as victims, Wicks did not meet the women. The Air Force said he wanted to have sex with two women and had an unprofessional relationship with a third.

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The defense has asked that evidence linked to the cellphone should be suppressed because it was given to investigators without his consent, and that agents didn't ask for a search warrant before scrutinizing the device.

The phone was taken by Tech. Sgt. Ronda Roberts, a fellow training instructor and Wicks' ex-girlfriend. She testified she saw “inappropriate” text messages on the phone while he slept at her house in November 2010. They broke up the next month.

A few months later, Roberts said she took the phone without Wicks' permission after he left it in a Lackland dorm, and did it “because I knew it was an inappropriate relationship.”

A key question is whether Roberts acted as an Air Force agent — a role that would require law enforcement officers to meet a higher standard. In January 2012, she met an investigator and told her of seeing the illicit messages. A week later, she gave Wicks' iPhone to the agent, Detective Arlene Rico.

Under questioning, Rico said she contacted an Air Force legal office at Lackland but didn't seek a search warrant. Moreover, she admitted to having little experience in such matters, seeking warrants perhaps on four occasions over four years with Security Forces.

Rico gave the phone to Mike Allen, a Bexar County Sheriff's Office detective. While on the stand, he told the court another Security Forces official told him consent had been given to analyze the phone.

“I wouldn't do it without a warrant or consent,” Allen said.

Part of the argument Tuesday centered on the doctrine of inevitable discovery. Under the doctrine, investigators may still make their case because evidence could be obtained through other means.

Prosecutors also argued Wicks did little to his recover his missing phone and that as a result he abandoned his privacy rights. That allowed investigators to examine the phone without his consent or a search warrant.

Wicks asked fellow trainers about the phone, and Roberts admitted to lying when confronted by a supervisor who asked if she had it. A prosecutor, Capt. Brent Jones, said Wicks didn't file a report about the missing phone.

But Dennis, the lead defense attorney, countered that Roberts indeed had tried to get the phone back and that he brought up the matter with supervisors.

While prosecutors said Roberts acted out of anger, Dennis cited Roberts' testimony in saying she cared about the impact of his acts on recruits.

In an exchange with Wicks, Roberts said she asked, “What would his parents think? What would his leadership think?”

“'This is me, this is who I am, get out of my face,'” she recalled him replying.